Dharma, sutras, and commentarial interpretations of interest to American Buddhists of all traditions with news that not only informs but transforms. Emphasis on meditation, enlightenment, karma, social evolution, and nonharming.
(To contact us, leave a comment marked "private").

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

LA Sheriff will be sentenced to prison (audio)

Where's the outrage for bad actors in top policing positions? (uglyjudge.com)

Hypocrite: concealing truth; see Lee Baca.

On Monday a Federal Judge Percy Anderson has rejected a settled plea deal for retired Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. The deal would have called for the former sheriff to serve anywhere from zero to six months in prison just for lying to investigators in connection with an FBI probe into the county jail system. So what is Baca's next step? What are his legal options? How many more charges will be brought against him now that his insider's deal has been taken away? Take Two's Alex Cohen talks about it with Prof. Stanley Goldman from Loyola Law School. More + AUDIO

If we can't trust the police, we must place our trust in the courts. If we can't depend on the courts, we have to take to the streets in protest. Others take it further than mere demonstrating. It is good that this judge has restored some faith.

When criminals police civiliansWisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Co-conspirator Undersheriff Paul Tanaka

We previously reported that the Sheriff was going to jail, pleading guilty in a sweetheart deal to spend fewer than six months actually locked up for a career full of crimes and misdemeanors.

His fall guy was the criminal undersheriff Paul Tanaka, second in command, who ordered deputies at the LA Men's Jail to beat prisoners and deprive them of their civil liberties. He was recently sentenced to five years in prison because he was so arrogant that he refused any deal that would damage his reputation, pension, or standing among underlings who looked up to him as the man who protected their official misconduct.

Criminal Sheriff (Ken Scarboro/KPCC)

Twenty-one corrupt members of the department, 9 directly involved, have already been sentenced in relation to an FBI sting operation. Refusing to lose face, Tanaka took the stand in his own defense and when he saw that his cover story was getting him nowhere, changed his tune and ratted out former LA Sheriff Lee Baca, his boss. Tanaka claims Baca knew about everything that was going on and tacitly approved. Baca was a very hands on type manager and it was preposterous to believe that all of his department was raging out of control as he sat oblivious above it all collecting nearly $300,000 annual salary. His pension today is about $260,000 today.

We abuse people, Baca covers for us

And his attorneys claim his very "early stage Alzheimer's" should mean he serves zero days in jail or state prison. But yesterday a federal judge threw out the sweet deal corrupt insider prosecutors had arranged and agreed to. The judge says such a light sentence "trivializes" the seriousness of Baca's crimes under color of uniform. It's one thing for ordinary citizens to break the law.

It is a whole other thing for corrupt officials to destroy confidence in policing, to encourage abuses and promote felonies among the very people hired and paid to protect the public. Baca should face no less than five years in prison, like his undersheriff who go off lightly given all the crimes he committed, and presumably much longer given the gravity of his actions and position. Why is he receiving such a handsome pension when he was a criminal at the helm?

Black Lives Matters shuns alliance of The Game and LAPD Chief Beck (KPCC/SCPR)

.

LAPD decides its murders are justified (KFI)

He is an admitted "liar" and needs to face the justice he was so eager to dole out over his long career now defamed by being found out. This is a most unexpected turn in the land of "politics as usual." And cries are getting louder to throw out our other resident criminal, LAPD Chief Charles Beck. These official seem to think their main task is protecting their employees from ever facing consequences for beating, abusing, raping, and murdering Angelenos they come in contact with.

All of these high crimes come about from contact on the streets as well as the jail system, often just a temporary detention center for innocent people awaiting trial and not serving any sentence whatsoever, filled to overcapacity by the LAPD and run by the LA County Sheriff's Department.

Funny

WISDOM QUARTERLY

All materials on this site are submitted by editors and readers. All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the Internet and are assumed to be in the public domain.

In the event that there is still a problem, issue, or error with copyrighted material, the break of the copyright is unintentional and noncommercial, and the material will be removed immediately upon presented proof.

Contact us by submitting a comment marked "private."

Do not follow this journal if you are under vinaya or parental restrictions. Secure protection by Sucuri.

Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at creativecommons.org/about/licenses.